For the Four
by UnderminetheAuthority
Summary: Post The Search: In which Azula is in love with Ty Lee, who fell in love with Toph, who is in love with Smellerbee, who fell in love with Azula. With a world to save and their own lives tipping on the balance, the four discover that love is just another word for who will die first. Rated M for later graphic scenes, sexual and otherwise.


**For the Four**

_After confronting and ultimately fleeing from Ursa in The Search, Azula goes missing and a series of mysterious attacks erupt around the world, killing off powerful benders with the Avatar as a top priority. Convinced that Azula is a culprit, Fire Lord Zuko sends some of his closest, strongest companions to capture her. However, all is not as it seems, and with the tangle of emotional turmoil raging with the conflict, a simple mission becomes so much more._

_In which Azula is in love with Ty Lee, who fell in love with Toph, who is in love with Smellerbee, who fell in love with Azula. With a world to save and their own lives tipping on the balance, the four discover that love is just another word for who will die first._

**Chapter One: For the Disillusioned**

Fire Lord Zuko was a lot of things.

Relieved. Relieved that his mother was back that his mother was _alive. _That his mother was not a corpse in a forgotten casket that his psychopathic father had thrown aside. He was happy that she was back. That she would be living with him, with their family, in the palace. They were royalty as well after all, and it would change their lives. Hopefully for the better.

He was also nervous. Nervous that perhaps, his new family would prefer their old one, their faded roots in that little town with their little theatre and little world, vastly removed from his. That perhaps his mother would decide that she preferred it that she didn't remember him. Remember them. Remember their life, that she was his mother and not just her new little daughter's.

And, deep down, he was also very afraid. Ursa was his mother. But she was also Azula's. And currently, his unpredictable sister was completely missing, gone without a trace. He'd hoped in his gut that when they found their mother, she'd change. Just a little. Just enough to go back to being his sister instead of the broken, murderous wreck of insanity that screamed all night in the ward. It was a faint hope, for she had long been shoved over the edge by their father.

No.

Not their father.

Ozai.

They were not the same.

However, he was afraid for another reason too. It was three days ago when she disappeared, and also three days ago that by some hopefully fantastical coincidence that attacks had surged through the world…not just in the fire nation, but in the earth kingdom, the water tribes, the air temples where Aang brought his acolytes to rekindle his lost generation. They seemed random, almost, with such unrecognizable patterns that he could not identify. They were short, sometimes. Long others. The means were erratic—sometimes a child would go missing, never to be seen again. Sometimes it would be an old man. Sometimes an earth nation mine worker, other times a water tribe noble. The only similarity is that there would be no body.

None at all.

According to his reports, and of those in other nations, the assailants were genderless. One could guess it was a man, guess it was a woman. One could even guess it to be an elderly identity, or perhaps a child. Rarely were the attackers clearly spotted and if they were, they'd don only the most vague and formless of robes and armor.

The hollow rap of knocking tore Zuko from his thoughts. Three dark sounds that filled his room with a shatteringly real sensation, so unlike the shadows that cried from the corners whenever the candles would flicker.

There was a heavy pause. Zuko sighed.

"Come in."

The door opened. Not a noise. But he could tell by the even, yet strong footsteps who it was. Zuko stood from his chair, where documents highlighting the recent events splayed with chaotic organization, to face Sokka and Suki. While a Kyoshi Warrior, Suki had stayed at the palace after Azula fled. She, along with Sokka, were helping him organize the country and take care of the attacks in spite of their duties at home.

"Another one," Sokka announced, his voice far from his comedic tone. He seemed particularly stricken, holding in his hands several letters, notes, reports, and messages, each bearing different insignias. "Actually, another five."

He placed them on the Fire Lord's desk, movements stiff.

"Three on the Northern Water Tribe, two in Ba Sing Se. A gondola worker, a man in his thirties, nothing outstanding about him. Average water bender, now missing. Two earth bending brothers who work with the postage system when they're in Omashu, and act as guards in Ba Sing Se depending on the month. A water tribe girl, no more than five, the daughter of a nobleman. And…"

Suki took over, noticing Sokka's face of morbid discomfort.

"Master Pakku. He's gone. Gone without a trace. He'd been on a ship to the Southern Tribe after a diplomatic meeting, but halfway through, people on the ship noticed a lot of noise outside. When people came out to see what was going on—it was nighttime—there was nothing, and Pakku was nowhere to be found."

Zuko being shocked would be an understatement. His scarred eye had stretched, his jaw clenched. "He was a master bender," he said to himself. "To take out potentially one of the strongest water benders alive without being caught, in the middle of the ocean… I believe we've underestimated these people."

He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose with stress. Azula. Azula was always good at pulling strings. She had so many people loyal to her, nefarious as she was. The Dai li were still on her side, he knew that much. There was no telling what she could have done throughout her time in the ward with the precious minutes she had without direct supervision when they brought her to the therapist or the doctor.

"Have you told Katara yet?"

Sokka looked off to the side. "No." He sighed. "Pakku—Grandpa—damn it, the news will kill her. And it'll kill Gran-Gran too. Maybe literally."

"There was something else strange too," Suki put in. "There were burn marks all over the ship. But they weren't normal burn marks—the scorching pattern, the texture, it was lightning."

"Lightning!" He exclaimed, fists clenching. This did not help his suspicions. "We only know of one lightning bender, and only one fire bender capable of defeating a master."

They exchanged glances. They all had suspicion in their eyes, but it felt so impossible. "How could she have done it? Gotten onto a high security water tribe vessel, an been gone without a trace? Would that mean she's in whatever organization is causing all this? Perhaps leading it? All throughout the time she's been locked up in the crazy house guarded by Suki?"

"Who else could it be?" Zuko snapped."We all know that doing the impossible is kind of _her thing_."

"Hey, it's our thing too." At Zuko's sharp glance, the swordsman shrugged. "Not to defend her—I mean, I wouldn't put it far that she's the one behind it all—but we did the impossible too by being in this position anyway."

"She went missing when the attacks started."

"It could be a coincidence?"

"Yeah, sure, a coincidence."

"You know Zuko, I think Mai is starting to rub off on you with all those sighs and sarcastic remarks. And it might not be a coincidence, but it doesn't have to be Azula."

"But it might be."

"But if we go on that hunch, then we could be expending resources crucial for suppressing these attacks. If it ends up not being her, who knows how many more people could be captured, or killed, or who knows what, within the time it takes to waste on her."

Zuko sighed. He hated it when they had a point. Perhaps it was personal judgment getting the best of him, or perhaps not. He just knew Azula too well for her to not be involved in the crisis at hand.

Suki's eyebrows raised. "Actually, both of you have valid points. I wouldn't be surprised if Azula was connected with outside forces in the time I've been guarding her. But it doesn't mean she's directly involved, or at least, the power at cause. Zuko, you're the Fire Lord, and it's possible that people knew that you'd be away looking for your mother, whether it was Azula who got word out, or by other intent of someone she was in contact with. Either way, you being away looking for your mother is a good opportunity for things to get done or get moving if they don't want you meddling. Iroh looked after things, but he can't possibly catch everything."

Her theory hung in the air. She was sharp, very sharp, what with being both a seasoned warrior and tactical combat leader. There was a reason Sokka took a liking to her after all—he wasn't one to judge purely on looks.

"Either way, if Azula is involved at all, it'd be a good idea to find her." He pulled out all sorts of maps and reports, statistics of cities, messages from Kuei and Arnook. "The most people go missing in big cities for the simple reason that they're bigger. We can send a teams to those cities to both look for the attackers and Azula, while a more concentrated team focuses on finding Azula and gathering information along the way. That way, few resources are expended. I'm sure you all already know the perfect candidate to hunt Azula, but she alone wouldn't be able to capture her."

"I'll go with Jun," Suki offered instantly. "It was my duty to guard her, and that extends to finding her. A Kyoshi warrior never leaves unfinished business."

"Then I'll go too," Sokka announced. Zuko looked between the pair. Suki had a point, but Sokka was a vital asset. As much as he hated to admit it, Zuko wasn't too bright when it came to running a government and running a military. Sokka was his tactical expert, his closest advisor. Aang was smart, sure, but he always had a head for morals, not combat.

"I need you here, Sokka. Much as I hate to admit it, I don't know if I can organize the chaos of the people and the current crisis at the same time." Zuko was not the favorite Fire Lord, and it showed in the occasional riots and general discontent. Things were better, but the more traditional generations were begrudgingly obedient if not in constant discord.

Suki placed a comforting hand on her boyfriend. A simple touch, but powerful between them. "I'll be fine, Sokka. Ty Lee can come with me. She was a guard as well, and she also…knows Azula the best of us, not including Zuko."

"But..Suki…"

She smiled. The air seemed to lighten, and Zuko preferred it to the previous weight.

"Alright, alright…" Sokka surrendered, shoulders sagging slightly. "I'll go tell Ty Lee then."

He left, leaving only Suki. She looked at him darky. "I didn't say it before, but whether or not your sister is related to the attacks or not, she has to be brought in and brought down anyway. She's a monster. So I'm warning you, if it comes down to our lives or hers out there, I won't hesitate to go for the kill."

For a while Zuko was quiet, contemplating, suddenly feeling a lot like his sister as he observed Suki's dark, determined face. She had permanent hate etched into her eyes, brought on by the permanent pain in her scars. He understood. But he didn't want Azula to die. Suki was right—as things were right now, Azula seemed more like a monster than anything else. What she had done, to all of them, to the world…she deserved to die for them, and if it were not her, he'd enact justice. But she _was_ her. She was his sister.

"Okay. But please. For my sake…only as a last resort."

Suki nodded, almost invisibly, and walked out the door.

It was midnight.

Or something like that.

Maybe it was one? Two? Somewhere in the middle?

Either way it was dark, really really freaking dark, but Ty Lee couldn't sleep, and didn't sleep, and rarely slept these days, and wished to the starry sky that she knew why. There were always horrible nightmares whenever she'd close her eyes. Dark swirling abysses of laughter and cold remarks and bone crushing glares from the past. So…perhaps they weren't nightmares. They were just memories. She'd recall the days that Azula would shove her into the mud. The days she'd drive her down and down and down and turn her back knowing that Ty Lee wouldn't dare get up. The nights that she'd scold her in her cruel princess voice for being afraid, for having bad dreams. The mornings she'd awake only in fear for the day to come.

Yet…yet those were not the real nightmares.

She would drift through an oblivion of pain. She would find herself unable to turn away as she'd recall when Azula would pick her up. When she'd compliment her. When she'd demolish those who looked at Ty Lee wrong. When she'd tell her how she wasn't like her sisters. The days they would walk on and on with just the company of eachother and Mai, feeling alive, feeling happy, feeling like friends. The nights she would awkwardly console her when she couldn't sleep.

And the day Ty Lee shoved a knife in her back, when she _did_ dare get up.

She tightened her hands around the balcony railing, feeling her fingers go numb with the pressure, feeling the bitter tingle of tears at the back of her eyes that just won't come.

They never come.

Because as much as she despises what she did, as much as she wishes Azula were here and things were as normal as normal ever was for a circus freak, monotone knife-thrower and evil princess, she also hated her. She hated her and hated her and hated her and wanted her to die, but then she ends up wanted herself to die for wanting Azula to die, and it gets too confusing and painful to think about.

Why couldn't things have been better…why did Azula always, always have to be so…so…mean.

Why?

A hand touched her shoulder, and Ty Lee swore she jumped five feet in the air before realizing it was Suki's aura. However, it was slightly off…darker…

"What's wrong?" She asked, brow knit in worry. She was very close to all the warriors now, especially Suki, and hoped that it didn't have anything to do with Sokka. Romantic turmoil was always horrible to your aura…she knew from experience.

Suki sighed. It was her turn to be the broody upset one now. "Five more people gone. Maybe captives. Brainwashed Dai Li-esque puppets at best, dead at worst."

Ty Lee's face fell, if that was even possible with her already downtrodden expression. "Oh…"

Suki looked off to the side, knowing that her next words were going to be painful for several different reasons. "It could be Azula." She paused. "It could also not be Azula."

The younger warrior was quiet.

"Either way, we're hunting her down with a team Zuko has organized for us. You, me, and that bounty hunter Jun. Also, Toph, whose older students will be running the academy, and we get two Komodo Rhinos for the job. We leave tonight, meet Jun outside the city, and pick up Toph."

She turned around and look back at the stars.

Azula.

She didn't know if she ever wanted to see the princess again. When she went missing three days ago, the nightmares got worse, but she was also glad she was gone. The farther she was the better—maybe Ty Lee could actually gain some real happiness back—but nope. The universe had other things planned.

"I don't know how to feel about this." She admitted to her leader. Suki's eyes softened, as did her aura, which Ty Lee could feel behind her.

"I know…I'm sorry I dragged you into this. But, it's our duty, and you're one of our best bets."

"Or worse bets. How do you know I'll be able to do it? Fight her? How do you know I won't betray you?"

"Because you're strong, and you've beaten her before. You wouldn't betray us, and we all know it."

"Well, I'm pretty good at destroying trust," She replied angrily, more to herself than anyone else. Suki was not startled, but moved behind her friend and rubbed her back.

"You're also really good at doing the right thing."

Ty Lee closed her eyes, wishing more than ever that she could cry.

"I hope you're right."

It had been three days since the dispatch, three days since the Fire Lord's return, three days since Smellerbee and Longshot had been on the road, avoiding all towns, and on the way to their mission point. It was an easy task, a simple task, a straightforward task which really did not warrant so much preparation and subterfuge. But Smellerbee understood that mistakes were easy to make, and one wrong move could endanger both of their lives.

They both held light travel packs, but wore simple civilian travelling clothes. The Freedom Fighters had long been disbanded, and so they no longer sported their warrior-like attire. Her hair had stayed at the same sharp, shaggy, genderless length, and her headband remained, but her warrior paint was long gong and her armor nonexistent. Instead she had simple clothing, with subtle padding underneath for protection. Longshot was similarly dressed, though both held jet black robes in their packs.

Wearing those, they were genderless at sight, as if she really needed one with her androgynous appearance.

In her hands was a map to a small town. A really, really small town. A town so small almost no one had heard of it, and it had no name. It was less of an organized settlement and more of a little site near a river where people decided to build little homes on because they couldn't afford to travel and live in Omashu many miles away.

There was supposedly a couple powerful benders there who had decided not to join the army all those years ago in the war. They were skipped over as no one really knew of the town, but they knew. And so they were sent to scout it out and return back to see if the rumors were true.

Should they be, it would be all too easy to make those benders disappear without anyone noticing at all.

By the time they got near to the town, they could see the golden sun inching up into the sky, bleeding arcing hues of red and gold that seemed to rekindle the charcoal sky.

She preferred the darkness.

Longshot looked at her. He still had his straw hat, a shock of dirty dark hair glancing underneath. His eyes flickered from her to the little town, lush and small though obviously poor, and she nodded.

They needed few words to communicate, if any at all.

They weren't too far from the nearest building. A mile at most, but there was no path, and their feet were tired, and it was tempting for her to just make a bed in the ground and crash there. But she knew, and he knew, and they knew that they had to blend themselves in and purchase a room in the little hut the town called an inn near the river.

Well, it would be awful strange to see two kids sleeping in the dirt, so it did make sense. The dirt was much more comforting to her though, but not everyone was like that. In fact, very few were like that.

Like a bullet, a crack pierced the dim silence. Smellerbee and Longshot were born fighters, raised fighters, stealthy and skilled. They rarely made a sound through the forest, their home, so as a twig snapped in the distance it rang through their ears like an explosion. The noise continued. Rustling of bushes, of leaves. Branches being moved to the side. It wasn't awful loud for whoever was there, but it was not as quiet as them either. The movements were calculated and smooth yet somewhat clumsy, and Smellerbee could tell. She had learned to identify all sorts of people by how she'd moved up in the forest.

If she didn't know how, she wouldn't have been a Freedom Fighter.

Longshot gave her an even, cool stare. She returned it, and they deftly moved to the side, with not even a breath of noise, hugging the trees and crouching low to the ground. Longshot stayed where he was, sliding a dagger from his sleeve. Normally he'd use a bow, as his name called, but if it turned out to be a villager it would be much harder to explain himself.

Slowly, Smellerbee crept towards the noise. She also slid a knife from her sleeve, and another from her boot. She was smaller, lighter, and more agile than Longshot, so that had long since developed their strategies.

The noises grew louder. No, not louder. Closer. And with the rhythm of rustling leaves and the dry crunch of loose stone, came the cut of hoarse breath rough from exhaustion. The thick smell of ashes and smoke grew near, and that was when she knew that this was not a friend.

Smellerbee exploded from her hiding place, the figure spinning to face her faster than she expected.

But not fast enough.

She came in contact. Worn clothes. Hot skin. Light body, but not a very light body. It fell easily with the weight of the fighter's small form as she tackled the figure, pushing it into the dirt, finding and securing the hands. Soft hands, burning to the touch, unnaturally so. Now Smellerbee realized that it was a girl who she was straddling to the ground, whose neck she pressed her knife to, who glared at her with defiant golden eyes and hectic black hair.

It was a girl, and she was fire nation.


End file.
